Securing means



Aug. 23, 1932. FORD 1,873,370

SECURING MEANS Original Filed Jan. 12. 1928 fzz/evziar [7 62 Q 570;

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Patented Aug. 23, 1932 IRA n. roan, or nosnLAnmoNrAmo, CANADA; Assrenonuro UNIVERSA summon FASTENING 80 BUTTON COMPANY, OI DETRQIT; MICHIGAK, A CORPORATION 'MICHIGANZ Application filed January 12, 19223, s riai enate;meta may 11, 1931. v

'7 This invention relates v tosnap fastener securing means and aims to provide im proved meansfor utilizing snap fasteners for detachably securing pieces of cloth together.

The invention may be readily understood 8 by reference to one" illustrative embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing, in which: V I V Fig. 1 is a section through the elements of a closed snap fastener holding together 'two' overlapping pieces of fabric; v n 1 V Fig. 2 is a plan section taken. along the line 2.2 of Fig. 1 showing the snap ring of the socket portion of the fastener. and the appearance of the upsetfastener prong.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a single prong tack fastener before the prong has been upset in the attaching operation; I 1

7 Because of the facility of theirapplication and because they require no button holes, snap fasteners areadvantageous for fastening together overlapping pieces of .cloth or the like, particularlyin working clothing and other articles where ease in fastening'or unfastening are important or where fastening by buttons or hooks is diflicult or unsuitable. However, the rstrain which is placed.

I on the cloth to separate snap fasteners having suflicient separation resistance for articles of clothing of this character, frequently results in tearing of the cloth at the-point of attachment of the fastener, due to weaknesses created by severing of the threads'of the cloth by the attaching means. Snap fasteners have, therefore, been objectionablenotwithstanding their inherent advantages, except for unusually strong material such as leather.

The improved attaching means is herein represented by a headed, single'pronged tack or fastener 10 whose prong-'11, issharply pointed and pierces the cloth without weak.- ening or severing any part thereof, and is upset within the fastener part under pres- 1 sure so that the cloth is clamped between the head of the tack and the base of the snap fastener part. In the present fastener the head 12 is integral with the prong 11* and is advantageously finished (and enlarged if need be) Vbya capy 13 whose margins are crimpedor upset under the head. The tack SECURING MEANS ting die.

ithef'baseprovided by the flange 20,,Hand thus is "m machine and sof'tha't thefprong offthe tack [e of metal sufiiciently' malleable that it inayflbe formed in a .tack

will enlarge and f upset properly inside the e timde e'ee e iof the p et- I The en fastener is represented metaland having an interior groove/"16 adj acent'theedge 17 .ofgtherini .ofthe. cup or socket. Loosely held within the groove is a spring ring18'. which in this instance extends fl QQket part l et and a stud par t 15' which; is received and 'separably held within the socket.

almost but not quite around the circumference of the groove. The stud art 15 comprises inthis instance, a circularflange orhead19 '7 'jecting from abase flange 20 Whichisprefsimplicity and manufacturing economy. The

stud part is'de signed infthis instance to proiadvantageously of double thickness and pro- ,vide a centralibase portion 21 in addition. to

designed" may bereadily formed from a'siriglepiece of sheet metal." I The free edge of the stud flange: 19 is advantageouslyupset or unstra'ined internal diameter of the spring to provide a rounded bead22 whose internal fdiameteris slightly greater than the normal ring 18. The depth of the projecting stud 19 is such that it may enter the socket part 1 1 during which movement the springring 18'is expanded to pass overthe head 22 after which it contracts 'around theneck 23 or portion of the flange. under the bead. The internal diameter of the groove 16 is made suflficiently larger'than the normaldiameter of 2:. V

theQring to allow room forexpansion of the ring in passing over the bead 22. y 1

The spring strength of the spring ring 18 and the shapeanddiameterof .the bead '22 are designedfto offer appropriate resistance 1.

to separation of thestud and socket parts of the fastener. Where the fastener is designed for holding together, portions of a cloth garment, for example,the-resistance to'separation of the stud and socketmjust be atleaSt 11 great enough to withstand the tension a just inside the fastener base where the prong -dented so that they may be readily pierced by the pointed prong ofthe, attaching fastener.,' In any-case, the opening in the base shouldnot be larger than 'the'portion of the prong which is in engagement therewith; A

ftightzfit is'tprefera'ble and .thisimay bead-t Iantageously secured by. permitting the prong of the fastener, which is tapered as shown,

either to pierce the base of the fastener part;

' or to enlarge a previously'formed smaller perforation, thus makingianopening which I conforms exactly to the prong and'engages it tightly' In attaching a fastener part, pressure is applied was to compress the cloth between the head of the, tack and the base of the fastener, and thus compressed the interf nally' projecting prong of the fastener is upset within the fastener part. The base of the fastener'part fitting 'closelyiaroundthe prong,

' limits the'upsetting Qr the' prong o that er.

tionof the prong-which lies, inside the fastener part. f The" character of the metal of which the prong is made is'such that under the upsetting action of the die it slightly enlarges or expands in diameter at 24, just inside the perforation in thebase of'the fastener part, so that itresists separation. from thefastener part throughout its circumfer- 'ence-flhe extremity of the prong is bent 'the' center around the security the grip on the cloth. The taperedshape of a fastenersadapt-ed to be separably engaged by or curled "over, as at 25,'againstth e base of 'the fastener against separation *or loosening of the spring las well as the tight fit of theJfa S- tener. part about the prong serves to cencen trate the expansion of the prong to the region is weaker and is unconfined" While the bases ofthe fastener parts may be flat," they may advantageously befm'ade slightly concave-ontheirexteriors to insure that the cloth will be gripped at least" as firmly at the edge's 26 of the grippedareaas at base of the prong'll. The tension in the fastener prongs; is s ufli- 'cientto cause the bases of the s'tud and sock- 'et parts and the fastener heads tightly to grip or compress the fabric between them." In" the drawing eachpieceof fabric is shown compressed by thegripping action of the'elementsofea'ch fastener part. The degree of compression necessary tov efiect a suflicient grip upon the fabric obviously depends some- 'what on the character and thickness of the fabric orlayers of fabric'to which the fastener is secured. I g r i F or purposes of decoration or advertise- .mentthe outer or top attaching fastener 27 is advantageously provided with ahead larger than that necessary merely for attaching purposes. Thishead includes a finishing cap part, thus providing additional ing. The, piercingjof the fahricby the prongs .Of the respective attachingfastener parts not j only preserves the inte'grit of the fabricbut avoids the formation 0 wrinkles which would beinade permanentwhen firmly gripped between the tack head and the-base of the snap fastener. Since the integrity of thefabric is preserved, there is little oppor-' tunity for the fabric to slip between the gripping head and'base; andany pull of the cloth w ich is communicated t -the base of thefattaching p ong is sofslight that there isnodanger that the prong willslit ortear the cloth. i

I have discovered that the pull which can be'exerted' between the cloth and an; attached fastener part is materially greater than that 'necessary'to separate the stud of a fastener from itssocket, thereby providing a suflicient factor of safety against tearing or' slitting Obviouslythe inv n ion is not nmiaa to the details of the illustrative constructlon, since they maybe variously modified; More- '7 so thatthe'cloth remains intact for'the life ii of the garment.

over, it is not indispensable that all features of the invention be used conjointly, since various features may be used indifferent combinations and sub-combinations,

Having-described; one embodiment of my invention, Iclaim: A snap fastener stud member for separable a socket member, said stud member comprising. a cup-shaped element :provi'ded with a central cloth engaging baseofsubstantialf area, an upstanding circular portion constituting the inner wall of said cup-shaped element 'flared outwardly to a substantial degree whereby" to fofin'anenlarged head for outer wall beingin the form of an outwardly extending base flange, anfattaching fastener for said stud member having ahead and asaid stud and rebent'to iform the'outerwall of'thej cup-shaped element and adaptedto enter a socket element," the margin of said the prong and closely engaging said prong,

said cup-shaped element of the stud member exposing theattachingflpreng so that-the prong maybe directly engaged by. a tool to upsetit, said'prong being upset under pressure withinthe' cup-shaped element while said central .7 baselof the cup, Shapedelementand the fastener head are caused to compress the cloth to which is attached to proyide an enlargementonsaid CERTIFECATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,873,370. August 23, 1932.

IRA D. FORD.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 49, for the misspelled word "capy" read cap; page 2, line 38, for "spring" read prong; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the ease in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 1st day of November, A. D. 1932.

M. J. Moore,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

